Slovenia fulfills its threat of fining Croatian fishermen who fish in the disputed part of the Bay of Piran.
The first Slovenian penalties for the violation of the demarcation line in the Bay of Piran have been received by Croatian fishermen in Savudrija, reports dnevnik.hr on January 29, 2018.
Nova TV’s journalists Petra Fabian Kapov reports that, for example, the Savudrija fisherman Diego Makovac, together with his wife, has received 14 separate fines from Slovenia. Each fine is for 500 euro, so Slovenia wants them to pay a total of 7,000 euro.
According to the reporter, Makovac does not intend to pay the fines he has received. He and his wife will forward them to the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, as explained in the instruction they have received on how to act in case they receive fines from Slovenia.
On Saturday, Slovenia sent the first notices to Croatian fishermen, alleging they were fishing in the sea which Slovenia considers to be part of its territory and therefore claims that the fishermen have illegally crossed the Slovenian border.
The official notices on fines have been sent to persons who committed the offense, rather than official Croatian institutions because it is a matter of individual proceedings. It is expected that soon new official notices will be sent in the same manner to Croatian fishermen who continue to cross the border, as the Slovenian police announced over the weekend.
Slovenia does not recognise the current central line in the Bay of Piran as a temporary line of demarcation at sea until the border dispute is resolved but rather claims that majority of the bay belongs to its territory, in accordance with the arbitration decision.
Croatia left the border dispute arbitration proceedings with Slovenia in 2015, after it was discovered that Slovenia had attempted to influence the arbitrators illegally. However, the process continued, and in mid-2017 the arbitration tribunal reached a decision, giving Slovenia most of the bay. Slovenia insists on the implementation of the decision, while Croatia wants to restart bilateral negotiation between the two countries.
